The True Value of Social Media

There’s value in everything you do for your business, but maybe one of the most important things you can do is participate in social media. Not only does this get the word out about who you are and what you do, we as consumers want someone to connect with. 

There is a women’s clothing company based out of Texas I found through an Instagram ad, and I make purchases from them at least once a month. They aren’t cheap and they aren’t close (as I’m in Missouri), but the customer experience and social media presence is so amazing I can’t stop thinking about them. People see the clothes I wear, they ask me about them, and I immediately pull out my phone to pull up their website or TikTok account. Am I getting paid as an Influencer? Heck, no. But I’ve built a brand relationship with them all because of an Instagram ad.

Relationship Building Power

Connecting a company with potential customers is not a hard talk anymore; you don’t have to place expensive one-time ads in the newspaper or create a cheesy commercial for local television (though both are still useful tools). We can now connect digitally with millions of people through social media channels—and probably get the point across in a better way. 

You can interact with those potential or returning customers through social media, making us more than just a “company.” We humanize ourselves, reminding the public that we too are individuals just trying to live our lives. By responding to comments, reviews or messages, you let people know they are heard, and their points are valid. 

Three Es of Value

Social media also has the three Es working for it: easy, effective and efficient. Social media’s ability to reach wide audiences with content in real-time—combined with its ability to quickly laser-target segmented audiences—make it an incredibly effective media channel.

In a study done by HootSuite, 72 percent of respondents reported that social media’s efficiency was so beneficial to their business that it even helped them improve the efficiency of their other media programs. 

Social ROI & Effort

When talking about value, you can’t ignore real numbers. There is a monetary element to social media that is something to pay attention to once you’ve started a marketing strategy.

From a social media marketing perspective, Social ROI (return on investment) is the number of people engaged by your company’s online marketing efforts in relation to the combination of labor and money invested into said efforts. You need to know if your marketing dollars are worth it at the end of the day. Each channel offers a bevy of metrics and analytics and products like Databox allow you to combine, contrast and compare each. 

There are companies that think social is not important to their company, but I never understand this thought process. The reality is, there are more people online than not, and if you want to see the value of social, you have to put effort into social. A Facebook page with 2,000 followers and a thriving community is certainly viewed as more trust-worthy and competent than a Facebook page with 100 followers and very little engagement. Who do you think gets more business? The page with 100 followers might have a superior product, but people don’t know about it because the company isn’t active on the platform. 

Social Media Engagement

You don’t have to be online every waking second of the day, but you have to put in the effort. Your page gets more engagement, you send out more responses. If people are interacting with your social media pages or website, that means they at least have a baseline interest in what you’re offering. By not engaging with them, you’re potentially leaving money on the table and leaving a bad impression for a potential customer. 

Rooted Web wants to make sure you get the best results. Our dedicated marketing team is here to build up your social media presence and give more value to your efforts. Let’s chat!